Ginger Brown Cafe, South Hobart

Located in South Hobart, Ginger Brown is one of those cafes that I had on my Hobart 'to try' list for quite a while, but it took me a good year of living in Hobart before I finally made a trip there earlier this year. Tucked away at the southern end of Macquarie Street, Ginger Brown is the perfect nook to head to if you want to escape the cold winds blasting down from Mount Wellington and cozy up with a good coffee and feed.


I first headed here a couple of months ago after a morning reformer pilates class (given that it is only a few hundred metres from the pilates studio) for breakfast. Even at 8am on a Tuesday, it was difficult to find a seat (despite having only been open for half an hour), but a friendly waiter found a seat for me and it wasn't long before I had a smooth, strong latte presented to me.

I decided to try the granola with nut and puffed amaranth, berry coconut yoghurt, maple peanut butter and strawberries. The granola was bursting with a mixture of delicious caramelised cashews, almonds and walnuts, with generous dollops of peanut butter and yoghurt, balanced out well with a serving of milk on the side. As far as home-made granola goes, this was definitely a winner.

On my second visit to Ginger Brown, I decided to go a bit later in the day so I could try one of their lunch menu items. Again, it was hustling and bustling, but I managed to find a seat at the front counter overlooking Macquarie Street, hidden among the array of plants decorating the cafe. This time I decided to go with the poke bowl with seared sesame tuna, black rice, avocado, ginger, soy, wasabi mayo, coriander, wombok and nori dukkah. The seared tuna was that perfect mix of just slightly seared on the outside with plenty of tender, pink tuna on the inside. The combination of the strong flavours of ginger, soy and wasabi mayo were balanced well with the more subtle avocado and black rice, and the nori dukkah added a nice crunch to the top.

As I was paying, I couldn't go past one of their home made caramel slices to takeaway, and it was not a mistake. The thick, creamy caramel centre with a thin chocolatey top made for a great afternoon snack.

If you're after a bustling but friendly spot to head to in Hobart that serves up a delicious breakfast and lunch menu and excellent coffee, along with a range of sweet homemade treats, I'd definitely recommend checking out Ginger Brown.